Japan's Eneos Group paid almost $4 million for expedited passage through the Panama Canal amid an unprecedented drought, Bloomberg reported.
  • Pons_Aelius@kbin.social
    77·
    1 year ago

    Ah, yes.

    Yet another outcome of climate change that few thought about.

    The canal uses fresh water from the lake in its locks, which has been affected by a long term drought…

    “This will be the worst El Niño recorded in recent history,” company administrator Ricaurte Vásquez Morales said, per the outlet.

    So the number of ships allowed to transit is reducing Normally 36 per day, is expected to hit 18 in a couple of months if the drought continues.

    I wonder how long it will take until it is cheaper to expend the extra fuel and time to go round cape horn than sit and wait in the line for the canal?

    • Sir_Kevin@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      41·
      1 year ago

      Cape Horn is also dangerous as fuck. If ships opt to go that route, I’d be willing to bet that a percentage of them don’t make it.

      • cbarrick@lemmy.worldEnglish
        16·
        1 year ago

        I’m actually surprised to hear that in 2023. I’d think we’d have figured that out by now.

        What percent don’t make it typically?

        • SheeEttin@lemmy.worldEnglish
          181·
          1 year ago

          The worst seas in the world aren’t really something you can figure out. Yes, you can build ships to endure it, but when you’ve got the canal, you don’t need to.

          I’m sure most of the ships themselves don’t have issues with it, but from what I’ve heard, shipping containers are mostly held down by gravity, so if they’re really rocking and rolling, they’re bound to lose a lot of cargo.

          • towerful
            14·
            1 year ago

            No, the containers all lock together, and lock to the ship.
            Certain parts are more “structural” and get cross braces, extra tie-downs and stuff.
            Gravity plays a huge part, and there will be a maximum amount of roll/list. But containers should not go anywhere.
            When they do, it’s normally because of incorrectly fitted (or missing) connectors, bad load balance, or because a heavy load inside a container shifted when it shouldn’t. Probably a combination of these things.

            https://shippingcontainerlab.com/why-dont-shipping-containers-fall-off/

      • Skua@kbin.social
        146·
        1 year ago

        Cape of Good Hope. Horn is the one at the southern end of South America. That said you’re still right that it remains a dangerous route, even with all the advantages of modern shipbuilding and weather forecasting ignore me I am apparently illiterate